Opposition: Behind the 'Jung Jin-sang Investigation' is Han Dong-hoon... South Korea "Minister's Duty is to Prevent External Interference in Investigations"

Minister Han: "Trillions in Development Profits Meant for the People Diverted as Bribes"

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is attending the Cabinet meeting held at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, on the morning of the 22nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon emphasized that "it is the duty of the Minister of Justice to prevent external interference in investigations" in response to opposition party claims that Minister Han is behind the investigation into Jeong Jin-sang, chief political coordinator of the party leader’s office and a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

On the 22nd, Minister Han, speaking to reporters on his way to the Ministry of Justice, stated, "It is the duty of the Minister of Justice to prevent unfair external interference during the investigation of crimes involving the embezzlement of development profits worth trillions of won that should rightfully return to the people."

Earlier, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye appeared on MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ the previous day and, when asked if Minister Han seemed to be behind the investigation of Lee’s close aide, replied, "The public believes so."

In response, Minister Han said on the same day, "This case has been ongoing since last year, and I am now trying to fulfill that duty," adding, "The previous minister (lawmaker Park) simply did not fulfill that duty."

Regarding Park’s claim that there was no evidence to justify the issuance of the arrest warrant for Chief Jeong, Minister Han said, "That is either an intentional lie or a statement made out of ignorance of the law," and added, "The natural prerequisite for issuing an arrest warrant is the establishment of probable cause."

He continued, "The arrest warrant form is printed with the fixed phrase ‘there is substantial reason to believe that the suspect committed the crime,’" emphasizing, "The issuance of the warrant naturally means that probable cause has been established."

On the Democratic Party’s proposal to include ‘negligence in maintaining order due to the authorities’ drug crime crackdown plan’ in the parliamentary investigation of the Itaewon tragedy, he criticized, "It means that the Democratic Party, as a political party, is accepting and continuing conspiracy theories from Hwang Un-ha and Kim Eo-jun."

He added, "Drug investigations must be conducted properly for public safety," and pointed out, "The public will now really wonder why there is such a strong effort to block drug investigations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.